On Monday, February 19, 2024, students from the Faculty of Engineering, Shubra, Benha University, visited the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS) as part of the cooperation between the Faculty of Engineering, Shubra, and the Organization, according to the agreement made during a meeting between the Faculty’s Vice Dean for Community Service and Environmental Development, Prof. Dr. Ali Abdelaziz, and the Chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality, Dr. Eng. Khaled Hassan Sofy.

The visit involved students from the Mechanical and Electrical Engineering departments touring the engineering laboratories at the organization, including the Household Appliances Testing Department (Safety Lab IP, Vacuum Cleaner Energy Efficiency Testing Lab, Washing Machines Testing Lab, and Gas Stove Testing Lab), the Mechanical and Metallurgical Testing Department (Hardness Testing Lab, Mechanical Measurements Lab, Fire Extinguishers Testing Lab), and the Electrical and Electronic Testing Department (Electrical Cables Lab, Television Lab, Lamps Lab, Glow Wire Lab).

The purpose of the visit was to highlight the importance and role of standards for future generations and to emphasize the importance of adopting a spirit of development in the educational process. This approach aims to graduate a generation of engineers who appreciate the significance of standards and are sufficiently aware of the role played by the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality in various fields. It also reflects the belief in the importance of building a generation capable of understanding the role and importance of Egyptian Standard Specifications and how to apply them.

The visit was supervised by Dr. Mamdouh Wafaa Shawky Al-Desouky from the Mechanical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Shubra, who is also a member of the General Engineering Committee, the General Committee for Standards, and the Hydrogen Technology Committee at the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality.

In line with the Faculty of Engineering at Shubra’s firm belief in adopting Egypt's Vision 2030 towards sustainable development and achieving sustainability goals to preserve the college’s resources and work in a clean environment while reducing environmental pollution, the college administration fully realizes that this goal cannot be achieved unless all college members share the responsibility for maintaining a clean environment and using clean energy sources.

Therefore, a workshop titled "Sustainability and Preserving the Available Resources at the College" was held on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at 1:00 PM under the patronage of the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Shubra. The workshop aimed to raise awareness among the college’s members (faculty staff, assistants, students, department directors, employees, and workers) about the concept of sustainability and the objectives of sustainable development.

Sustainability may be a new and modern field, but as a practice, it is as old as humanity itself. Ultimately, nothing lasts unless it is sustainable. Every culture that has survived through the ages has implicitly recognized and followed this organizing principle.

The workshop included two main lectures:

• The first lecture by Prof. Dr. Tarek Al-Hanawi from the Department of Architectural Engineering and Prof. Dr. Hanaa Abu Al-Majd from the Department of Natural Sciences focused on understanding the concept of sustainability.

• The second lecture by Prof. Dr. Ali Abdel Aziz, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Vice Dean for Community Service and Environmental Development, introduced the carbon footprint of college members and ways to reduce carbon emissions.

This training formed a comprehensive awareness among all college members across administrative and academic departments. It provided a thorough explanation of sustainability and preserving the college’s available resources.

Prof. Dr. Ali Abdel Aziz, Vice Dean for Community Service Affairs, along with Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Mousa and Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, visited the Arab Academy, specifically regarding summer training conducted either practically and theoretically inside the academy or through the factories of the Arab Organization for Industrialization.

The following are the key points discussed with Dr. Hossam Taha, Advisor to the Director of the Arab Organization for Industrialization:

1. The possibility for the organization to supply or manufacture surveying equipment such as GPS and Total Station devices, or to supply spare parts like batteries for these devices.

2. Repair of the environmental monitoring unit, which was supplied through the Al Saud office.

3. Creating opportunities for field training. Coordination was made with Eng. Iman, the training officer at the organization, who stated that training inside the academy covers three specialties (CNC, PLC, IT), and trainees receive accredited certificates from DMG (a German company), Siemens, and Huawei, respectively.

   An agreement was made with Dr. Hossam that free training could be provided for the top students from the Mechanical and Electrical departments, following an official letter from the university president to the head of the Arab Organization for Industrialization to approve granting free training opportunities at the organization’s factories.

4. Dr. Hossam requested training for the organization’s engineers in the field of Materials Science, and Dr. Ibrahim Mousa agreed to provide this training free of charge, followed by drafting a memorandum of understanding between the college and the organization.

5. Dr. Hossam indicated that the organization is planning to establish a foundry to supply its factories. Dr. Ibrahim Mousa inquired about several aspects of foundry work, and the college offered full support for designing and specifying the foundry through the college’s consultancy center.

6. The organization was invited to address industrial challenges (manufacturing stages, machine operation, design) by proposing research topics to solve these issues through graduation projects or theses for master's and doctoral students.